Dear Dr. Adams and Members of First Baptist Church:I wanted to thank you for your invitation to come and teach “church history” to the members of First Baptist. It was a pleasure! Knowing something about our heritage and those who have gone before us strengthens our foundation and gives us a deeper appreciation for those things we believe.Thank you for your generosity in paying my expenses and for the liberal love offering. We are thankful that God has given us friends like you who are eager to learn and also support BMA Seminary so that others can have the opportunity to receive the kind of Christ-centered conservative education that is offered on our campuses.May God bless you and please continue to keep the Seminary in your prayers.Sincerely,Charley HolmesPresident, BMA Seminary

Then I heard the voice of the LORD, saying,“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8 We all have excuses to disqualify ourselves from God’s service.• “I’m not physically well.”• “I’ve got this temper problem.”• “I can’t speak very well in public.”• “I don’t have a lot of education.”• “My past is too raunchy!”• “You see, I’m a divorcee.”• “I was once in a mental hospital.” And on and on and on…but God is bigger than any of those reasons. He specializes in taking bruised, soiled, broken, guilty, miserable vessels and making them whole, forgiven, and useful again. You see, God’s perspective is much broader than ours. -Copied-

Life is hard, even for one who follows Jesus. Life is hard because we live and work in a fallen and twisted world. Every day we are confronted with a struggle against sin and the effects of sin in our lives. God has promised strength to cope with these demands. But we have to turn to God to ask for such strength. As he provided each day anew for the Israelites in the wilderness, so does he provide for our needs-one day at a time, one thing at a time. We cannot find this strength by filling up our spiritual tanks on Sunday and trying to make it to next Sunday. God’s strength is given as we go along, with each task. And so we are left to live in continuous dependence on God-just where he wants us. Morning prayers are not a place to visit and leave. That is where we are to live. And with practice, we will find that we are able to carry on ordinary tasks without leaving the presence of God. In God’s presence, the ordinary things like child care and working for daily bread become holy. Satan and the world we live in have a different agenda. They would have us squeeze God’s place in our life down to the smallest possible piece-an hour on Sunday perhaps, or an occasional brief prayer. Satan’s goal is to persuade us to get God out of government, schools, all public life, and out of our days. But God says to us: No, I want all of you: heart, soul, mind and strength. You belong to me; I have all my gifts for you. Come to be for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. If you want God’s strength, move into his presence and stay there. And when you drift from his presence, do not despair. Just quietly move back into the loving arms of our Father. He will never leave you to cope with life alone.